Scooters//

Streets and Laneways of Ho Chi Minh City

Streets and Laneways of Ho Chi Minh City

Ho Chi Minh City (i.e. Saigon) is wild. The roads are a sea of scooters, where the scooters swim like a school of fish, but between the main roads, there are connecting pathways which allow for a much calmer way of life.

Coming from Melbourne, Australia, Laneways are just an iconic part of the city, and as much as Ho Chi Minh couldn’t be more different, the back streets and laneways share some similarities. They’re more relaxed, while still being a place to eat; just not as mainstream. You still get traffic, you still get a bunch of people, but for something so close, you see something very different at a much calmer pace.

In terms of exploring, the laneways tend to keep tourists away for some reason. I think it’s got to do with the tribal mentality of ‘hanging out where my people are’, but that doesn’t seem to matter for locals. It just allows curious people to get a bit more of a real look at the daily life. And it’s really cool.

While in Vietnam, I shot a tonne of streets, people, laneways, traffic, etc, but with this post, I’ve tried to put a little more focus on people in the environment. As for a look at broader crazy traffic or specific shots people, those posts and pics will coming soon.

And just for good measure, there’s a few photos of some of the busier streets with people mixed in.

Exploring Dương Đông in Phú Quốc

Exploring Dương Đông in Phú Quốc

Phú What?

Phú Quốc is about 40 minutes by air from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, and is a small island about 50Kms tall, and 25Kms wide. The main town of  Phú Quốc is Dương Đông, and I had the pleasure of spending a couple days here to see out the end of 2014. Such a nice little town, and a real change of pace from the craziness of Ho Chi Minh City.

Dương Đông

About half way up the west coast is the main town Dương Đông. It’s got a great night market open from 4:30pm, and up the end of the market is the Dinh Cậu Lighthouse. It’s an awesome spot, with a great view of the town and market below. There’s fisherman, people, and at sunset, a great atmosphere.

So, that’s where I ended up on Saturday 27th December, 2014.

Scroll on for some photographs, and click to see a higher resolution version.